SUBfestive, celebrating the city of Surabaya

On Sunday, December 15, 2013 at Balai Pemuda Surabaya, Ayorek! launched a variety of media that have been made ​​for more than a year: websites, book, journal, and Internet-based music label (netlabel). For this launch, Ayorek! in collaboration with various parties, organised a city festival SUBfestive.

SUBfestive is a festival that invites Surabaya citizens, especially youths, to celebrate the city by participating actively in cultivating and developing the knowledge and creativity of Surabaya, making works that reflect the ideas and issues of everyday life, combined with the ideas and practices of media today. Either by making films, animation, writing, music. To remix, renew, cultivate our own understanding of the city, and creating new alternatives. Celebrating the diversity of insight and wisdom for a more sustainable, liveable and lovable city.

Welcome to Ayorek! SUB Festive 2013 at Balai Pemuda. The event was held next to Surabaya Tourism Information Center (TIC), it is also organised as part of Surabaya Night Performance.

Welcome to Ayorek! SUBfestive

While, Surabaya Spectacular Night is usually held every Sunday. I think Balai Pemuda should provide more space for youth events like this, since it is derived literally from the name of the building, haha you’re welcome :D

Ayorek! SUBfestive rundown

Surabaya was colder that day, the influence of west monsoon which always pours more rains in December. There were many fun things and talks that can brighten up your mind.

Surabaya AnimNation screening

Surabaya AnimNation organised by Cak Ikin (Gathotkaca Studio).

The event started with the screening of Surabaya AnimNation. Cak Ikin from Gathotkaca studio (http://gathotkacastudio.com), a renowned animator of his own right with his infamous Grammar Suroboyo, has organised and provided cool animation nutrition for Surabaya people. Through this independent, regular screening program, Cak Ikin invites various animators to send a short piece (not more than 8 minutes) to then organise its screening in SUBfestive and Sunday Market (22 December) in Surabaya Town Square. Surabaya AnimNation closed by a short animation film by Cak Waw that was getting hypes from Festival Film Indonesia. Indeed, it’s cool and funny. Everyone’s enjoying the show by the burst of laughters.

Cak Ikin from Gathotkaca Studio, the organiser of Surabaya AnimNation.

Launching of Ayorek!: website, book, journal

Then, there was a short presentation by kathleen about Ayorek!, including its website, SUBversi book, Treasure Hunting and SUB/SIDE. Literally, Ayorek is a combination of two phrases in Surabaya’s language, ayo means come on, while rek is the term used in our every day language to address our friends. It is also derived from budaya arek or the spirit of youth in our culture especially in some parts of East Java including Surabaya.

SUBversi book. The Gembong Market feature was written and illustrated by me and inyongski

Ayorek! Journal on the other hand is a periodical containing stories about Surabaya and city life. The first edition brings out Kampung Arab, with features written by Erlin Goentoro, Adhiel Alba, and illustrated by Nitchii.

Discussion on media, commons, creativity, knowledge and the city

The Sunday talk was about creativity, media, commons, community & participation with Ibu Sirikit Syah from Media Watch, Marco Kusumawijaya from Rujak Center for Urban Studies, and Ari Juliano from Creative Commons Indonesia. How can we utilise technology and media to deliver contextual knowledge, facts and realities of our city, along with its environmental, social, economic and cultural diversity? How can this knowledge prompts greater participation and creativity for the commons? f you have any blog, videos on vimeo or youtube, photographs on flickr, you should know about what creative commons license is to protect and spread knowledge from your works. For further search, just click and go visit their site or read a book entitled FFree Culture (Budaya Bebas) by Lawrence Lessig which you can get or borrow C2O Library & Collabtive. If you’re an Airlangga University’s student, you can borrow it from American Corner Library. I’d found that book a long time ago before I knew about what creative commons is from Amcor Library.

Books about Surabaya and city life

Break session

Snacks and coffee break from Kampung Arab!

Meanwhile, we were in love with sambosa, traditional food from Kampung Arab that similar to pastry filled with ground lamb, onions and spices, ultra delicious! There were also Arabian coffee, that also tastes like mixed with ginger extract. I didn’t know how many glasses I drank, hihihi. They were presented by Adhiel Alba and peeps from Kampung Arab. (Editor: Initially, SUBfestive planned to involve people from Kampung Arab, particularly the domino players, to organise some games at the balcony. Unfortunately, although the organising committee has explained that there is no gambling during the games, and that the locals are proud that they manage to continue this traditional game despite the absence of any monetary bets, the Surabaya Tourism Board insisted on forbidding the game from being carried out.)

Post a Place: handmade postcards about Surabaya

Post a Place, postcards exhibition about Surabaya and the places we love

Post a Place exhibition, co-organised with LOS

In this event, there were also an exhibition of Post A Place #2 that shows DIY postcards about Surabaya, it can be in a form of sketch, doodle, or photograph. I made seven postcards for them.

Treasure Hunting

There were also treasure hunting by STD atau Surabaya Tempo Dulu, a community of Surabaya’s history enthusiasts. They provided many trivial questions about Balai Pemuda and Surabaya in Dutch colonization era. Inyongski and me curious about one question, where is the mirror in Balai Pemuda that can reflect a Dutchman’s ghost, and mostly they answered “in Tourism Information Center”.

akumassa video screening

After the break, we had akumassa video screening about various phenomena in Surabaya by KINETIK.

Screening and talk by KINETIK.

There were six videos being screened here: (1) A story in Ampel, (2) Western wind of Cak Meli (in Pantai Ria Kenjeran), (3) Irama Budaya, (4) Torchlight market, a market that opens at 3am, (5) wayang Poo Tay Hie, and (6) a chess hawker centre.

SUB/SIDE

Live music: Pathetic Experience.

Finally, the event was wrapped up with SUB/SIDE live music. SUB/SIDE itself is an internet-based music label (netlabel) from Surabaya. Founded in 2013 under Ayorek! to respond to the lack of online music label in Surabaya, SUB/SIDE ams to archive and disseminate works by musicians from or in Surabaya, in the forms of downloadable digital audio format (at http://ayorek.org/subside/). Other than online releases, SUB/SIDE also organises live events for interactions and cultural exchange. For SUBfestive, Ayorek! presents SUB/SIDE to the public, along with its SUB/SIDE Compilation vol. 1 CD, supported by multi-genre musicians in Surabaya: Alepak, Fraud, Hi Mom!, Mooikite, Moskimos and Pathetic Experience.